IL6 and autoimmune disease: Among cytokines, IL-6—a well-known highly inflammatory cytokine implicated in chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases [23]—was the most overexpressed gene in each MG thymus subgroup compared to normal thymus, followed by IL-1β, a proinflammatory cytokine mainly produced by myeloid cells and also involved in various inflammatory and autoimmune diseases [24] (Table 2).